The Oceans of Pluto

TL;DR

Recent discoveries suggest that there may be the potential for life on Pluto and other icy bodies in the solar system and beyond.

Transcript

For most of my life as a space enthusiast there were planets in the solar system that we had not visited. I well remember at age fourteen watching the first visit humanity had ever made to the planet Neptune with Voyager 2 in 1989. Here was a planet that had been discovered in 1846 that we had never seen close up. After that there remained one plan... Read More

Key Insights

• 🥮 The discovery of tholins on Pluto's moon Charon suggests the presence of organic materials necessary for life to arise.
• 🥶 Ice volcanoes and ongoing cryovolcanic activity indicate the existence of a subsurface ocean on Pluto.
• 🛟 The potential for life on Pluto and other icy bodies in the solar system expands the chances of habitable environments and the emergence of life beyond traditional planets.
• 🛟 The discovery of Asgard archaea and the origins of complex life provide insights into the evolution of eukaryotes and the likelihood of complex life in the universe.
• 🥶 Intelligent life may be rarer due to the presence of ice shell environments that do not favor the development of intelligence.
• 🎑 Ecosystems on ice shell moons and planets could be diverse and unique, potentially home to various alien organisms and adaptations.
• 🎑 The abundance of ice shell moons in the solar system suggests a greater chance for habitable environments and life than previously known.

Questions & Answers

Q: What did the New Horizons flyby of Pluto reveal?

The New Horizons flyby showed that Pluto is a dynamic world with mountains and evidence of wide-scale geologic activity, challenging the earlier assumption of it being an inactive ice ball.

Q: How are materials from Pluto exchanged onto the surface of Charon?

The barycenter of Pluto's and Charon's orbits allows for the exchange of materials. Tholins, organic molecules, produced in Pluto's atmosphere escape and deposit on Charon's surface.

Q: What recent discovery suggests the presence of an ocean on Pluto?

A network of ice volcanoes, also known as cryovolcanoes, on Pluto's surface indicates the presence of a subsurface ocean. The flows from these volcanoes lack impact craters, suggesting ongoing activity.

Q: What implications do these findings have for the potential existence of life?

The presence of a subsurface ocean and ongoing cryovolcanic activity increases the likelihood of life on Pluto. The exchange and interaction between the ocean and Pluto's surface may provide the necessary conditions for life to emerge.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Pluto, once thought to be a boring, dead ball of ice and rock, revealed a dynamic world with mountains and evidence of geologic activity during the New Horizons flyby in 2015.

• The discovery of tholins, organic materials, on Pluto's moon Charon suggests that Pluto and its moon may accurately represent a double planet and have the necessary building blocks for life.

• Recent findings of ice volcanoes on Pluto's surface and ongoing cryovolcanic activity indicate a subsurface ocean and the possibility of life.